Of Glee and Titans
by punnylove
Summary: "It's the most basic superhero rule-never touch the big, red button." When Wally presses the button of an unknown supervillain's machine, Robin, Raven, Speedy, Jinx, and Kid Flash are transported to another dimension. Glee will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

_Kid Flash stared at the button. It was huge, red, and literally screamed danger. It's basically Superhero Rule number uno: _never_ touch huge red buttons, especially not when an unknown supervillain is the one who owns the machine that possesses said button. Especially if the previously mentioned supervillain has just spent the last new hours disappearing in and out of Morocco._

_Still—Kid gazes longingly at the forbidden button. He'd been in the heat of battle mere seconds before, but now—he's in bubble of quiet calm. None of the supervillain's furred minions seem to dare go within two feet of the machine. _

_He glances around, trying to pinpoint the other Titans. Robin smashes a steel monkey into another and ducks away as the two explode. Raven wipes out several more with her mystical magic thingy—Speedy at her back—and Jinx seems to be holding her own. _

_Kid Flash would have leapt back into the fray, if it hadn't been for that button. Perfectly round and shining in the sunlight, it beckoned him seductively, its bigness and redness whispering, "Push me, Wally. What could go wrong?"_

"_Everything." Kid Flash replied, "The world could explode. You could be some twisted DNA collector that steals my double helix and then clones me. I could end up dead, or exploded, or in a hundred different pieces. I might let Mojo Jojo," he jerks his head at the supervillain, who does, unfortunately, bear a striking resemblance to a monkey, "get away again."_

_From the other side of the room, Raven looks up and sees Kid Flash talking absently at the machine. She frowns, blinks, but then another of the supervillain's steel monkeys attack her and she's busy again._

_Wally can feel his hands drawing closer to the button. A part of his brain is screaming at him to stop, but he's dying of curiosity and hey, Robin, Raven, Speedy, Jinx, _and, _(most importantly) he is there. What could go wrong?_

_Jinx catches sight of her boyfriend's wandering hand and feels her stomach clench. "Wally, don't be stupid!" she screams, but the wave of steel monkeys drown her out. Her eyes flash pink and she sends pure energy shooting towards them—only to have the entire world turn black._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Raven wakes up first, sprawled over what feels like concrete. Her head feels—light. Unclouded by the usual ongoing battle between her selves and Rage. She wonders is the machine killed her, and she's finally at peace, but then she glances down at the ground she just slept on and—no, heaven doesn't have gum wrappers or broken pencils or half-eaten sandwiches. Raven grimaces at the last item and brushes herself off. _The last thing I need is Tuna in my nose distracting me from the Human Monkey._

By the time she stand up she's back on alert, expecting the screech of a steel monkey as it comes flying at her—but the air is surprisingly quiet. No, not quiet, but free of the noises of battle. Her eyes scan the area around her, and Raven frowns. The last thing she remembers is hearing Jinx warning Wally away form the machine—the machine.

What was it, a teleporter? A time machine?

Raven glances around, taking in her surroundings. She stood in a small clearing filled with dirty benches and chairs, overflowing trashcans, and a semi-rancid odor. Turning, Raven feels her confusion increase. The building is large, with decent windows and a sign proclaiming, "McKinley High."

The fact that she's in a high school is disturbing enough, but what really makes Raven start to panic is the murky glance she gets of herself in the window. The girl that stares back can barely be seen in the shadows, but she's definitely not wearing a cape or leotard, and she doesn't have a gem in the middle of her forehead.

_Ok, calm down_. Slowly, she reaches up to touch her forehead. The stone, as far as her fingers feel, is still there. Running her fingers down to her chest, she pinches at the fabric and feels cloth, not latex. A glance at her legs show tight jeans and sneakers, a quick twist proves that there's no cape.

_I'm me, but—not. Wally better be ready to explain why he decided to push that thrice-cursed contraption._

"Not that seeing a sexy chick feel herself up in the middle of the quad isn't hot, but if you don't wanna get caught by Figgins, you might want to ditch class somewhere else."

Raven snaps her head back, instinctively summoning her powers and throwing up a shield. Two things happen. A mohawked boy with his shirt off and a smirk on his face winks at her startled look, and she realizes that her powers are almost nonexistent.

_Crap. Wally, forget the explanation. You're dead._

When the girl doesn't relax after a couple seconds, Noah Puckerman starts to worry. "Shit. You _are_ from this school, aren't you? Tell me you're not some dude's little sister who's coming to give him somethin' or any of that crap."

She blinks at him, and Puck sees her lips twitch upwards. It's such a contrast to her huge, somber eyes that he grins back. He'd been coming back from the Nurse's office, (or Math, for everyone else), after a good, long nap, and had caught sight of some random chick which her hands on her boobs in the middle of the favorite lunchtime space for McKinley's student body.

He hadn't registered more than that, but now he takes a couple steps back to study her more closely. Small, delicate build, cropped black hair, big, violet-blue eyes, and—his eyes rake down her body—a body he wouldn't mind spending some _quality_ time with. Shit. He really hopes she isn't some kid's baby sis.

Raven watches the other boy's eyes travel south and feels the beginnings of a blush staining her cheeks. She also feels extremely annoyed. It's not as if she's completely unused to male eyes, after all. "_If,_ you're quite finished?" she asks tartly, crossing her arms. He meets her eyes again, a slow smirk spreading across his face.

"Noah Puckerman," he offers, "Friend's call me Puck."

"Ra—chel." Raven hesitates for a second before offering her civilian name. She takes his offered hand and shakes firmly, ignoring the fact that he holds it longer than is strictly necessary.

"Okay, _Raaa_chel," his smirk grows. "Want to find a place where we won't get caught?"

Rachel eyes him, wondering if he even knows that his namesake is a mischievous, tiny hobgoblin that sprung from the mind of Shakespeare. "Probably not," she decides, noting the way his confident gaze doesn't waver despite the fact that she hasn't responded to his question. Finally, she nods.

He actually takes her into the school, which surprises her at first. The hallways are cleaner than the quad, but barely. Raven shudders in disgust when her arm brushes against something slimy and glances sideways to see a yellowish streak on one of the lockers. "Hey, you cold?" Mohawk boy—_Puck_—asks, and suddenly Rachel feels him tug her closer.

She stumbles slightly against him, her hands spreading across a thin T-shirt that does nothing to hide Puck's muscled chest, and her cheeks darken. Pushing away hastily, she forces herself to walk a little faster, forcing him to lengthen his stride to keep up.

_What's wrong with me?_

It's not as if she hasn't had plenty of experience with attractive males before. Hell, she's practiced hand-to-hand with Robin, (voted Jump City's hottest single guy), his shirt off and her in only a leotard! She's healed other Titans in highly personal places, all of which required hand-to-skin contact and complete concentration.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she chants silently, trying to calm the speed of her heart, but the magical calm doesn't come.

"This way, babe," Puck doesn't seem bothered by her brush-off, slinging a familiar arm around her waist and guiding her left. Raven tries not to notice the feeling of his muscled arms on her hip and the way his hand is splayed casually over her stomach.

_So, inventory. I can't levitate, meditate, or use any of my powers. In fact, my powers seem to be at an all-time low, which explains why I can't my heart to slow down. Of all the times to become a hormonal teenager, this is probably the worst possible. Wally, you better get me out, fast._

Puck leads her into what looks to be a small classroom, plus several instruments and music stands. "It's the glee room," he explains, "Most kids won't be caught dead here."

Raven glances at him, noting the affection in his voice. It's hidden, but she hasn't lived with the World's Greatest Detective's sidekick for four years and not learned how to read people. "And you're not one of them?" she asks.

"Not anymore." Puck doesn't elaborate, brusquely closing the door. "Fuckin' losers don't deserve my badassness anyway." He smirks and suddenly Raven finds her back against the door and Puck's face inches from hers, his arm above her head. "Now, new girl," he says, and his eyes darken, "why don't I give you a special Puckerman welcome?"

"Um, no thanks." Raven's voice is pure acid, but cheeks are burning and she can feel the heat of his gaze all the way down to her toes. She has the feeling that he knows it too, because he doesn't move away, choosing instead to lower his head dangerously closer. She can feel his breath on her face. "Are you sure?" he asks, and she can feel the vibrations of his voice in her body—they're that close.

"She said _no_, asshole." There's a sudden rush of air as Raven feels another person yank Puck off her. The boy glares at Puck, slinging an arm around Raven's waist possessively. "Give me a reason to smash his face in, Rae—"

"_chel,_ Rachel._"_ Raven inserts quickly, telling herself she's _not_ disappointed. She sighs despondently and pulls away as her traitorous body responds just as readily to this new male presence. "And no, Roy, you can't smash his face in. He's the only one I know who has any idea where this place is." She pitches her voice so that only he can hear the last part.

Roy's still glaring at Puck, but he catches on quickly, matching her tone. "Actually, I met someone else who knows her way around. She's kind of intense, and she threatened to pepper-spray me, call the cops, and do all sorts of other unpleasant things after catching me 'loitering.'" He jerks his head towards the door as a small brunette stalks in. "So, we don't need _him._" The last part is loud, and Puck snorts.

"Berry? You think Crazy's gonna be a better guide than I am?" He takes a step closer to Raven, who instinctively takes a step back. "Trust me, babe. I can lead you better any day."

Roy's arm snakes around her waist again, and he pulls her to him. Raven rolls her eyes as she's pulled against a very attractive male body for the second time that day.

_I am not turned on by all the testosterone. I'm not. Damnit, Wally, get over here so I can pound your face in for getting me into this position!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Speedy's always considered himself a pretty easy-going guy. Run into him on the street? He'll forget about it after a couple minutes. Rob a bank? He'll haul your ass to jail but won't harbor any hard feelings the next time you need a loan. Flirt with his girl? Speedy's never minded a little competition.

Until now.

He glares at the Mohawk-donning, smirking boy who'd had Raven up against a wall a couple moments before. The boy is currenttly rolling his eyes as Rachel Berry lays into him about "harassing new students and jeopardizing any chance of new membership and therefore her future career as a star…" Speedy stops listening after that and focuses instead of Puck.

He has to admit, the other boy is well-muscled, tall, and could probably be considered good looking. Any other girl, and he would have relished the competition. Probably welcomed it as a well-needed challenge. Any other girl—but it wasn't any other girl.

It was Raven. Stoic, mysterious Raven with her sharp tongue and cool head, who never reacts to his flirting even after they go from casual acquaintances to good friends. The Raven who'd placed a cool hand on his thigh and kept him from losing his leg to Trident's poison barbs even as he shivered at her proximity. It was bad enough that he suspected Wonder Boy had a thing for her—there was no way he'd let some punk-ass civilian get in his way too.

"Roy? Roy!" Speedy looks down at an impatiently scowling Raven. He blinked, taking her appearance in for the first time. "What are you wearing, Rae?" It's not the first time he's seen her in civilian clothes—but definitely the first time he's seen her in a blouse that ended just a little higher than her skin-tight jeans, revealing a sliver of midriff.

"Eyes up here, Roy. Just because I'm not up to my usual power level doesn't mean I can't kick your ass for gawking." Raven's eyebrow is raised, her voice is sarcastic, but Speedy thinks he sees just a bit of red in her cheeks. He grins, purposely invading her private space. "I'd like to see you try, sweetheart." If Puck was able to get so close—

Raven ducks easily away, punching him in the shoulder. "Have your pissing contest somewhere else," she orders, "What happened?" Her voice lowers, and Speedy thinks wryly that Rachel Berry's lecture is excellent cover for their covert conversation.

He shrugs. "Last thing I know, I'm kicking monkey butt and the next—boom. I'm in the girl's bathroom and she's threatening to call the police on me." He jerks his head towards a still ranting Rachel. "Her name's Rachel Berry, by the way. She's the leader of the glee club." Raven looks confused, so he explains. "Glee club's sort of like a performance thing where they sing and dance competitively. Puckerman didn't tell you?"

She ignores his cheap shot at Puck and glances at him. "Did you still have your bow? Other weapons?" His uniform is gone as well, leaving him with a loose T-shirt and jeans. Her eyes travel up to his face, and she stops, momentarily stunned. "Roy, your mask—"

"You've seen me my eyes before, Rae," he pointed out, "I haven't been attacked yet, and/or proposed to by screaming fangirls either, so here, wherever "here" is, is far enough away that it's not going to make a difference. I can hardly go around wearing a mask all the time, and sunglasses will only draw attention." He winks, bright green eyes glinting mischievously. "'Sides, I need to woo you away from Mohawk with these babies."

Raven ignores that. "Ok, my turn." She points to herself. "I'm Rachel Roth. Same civilian name, so it shouldn't get confusing. Robin'll probably guess that's the name I've chosen, but Wally and Jinx might slip up a little. Speaking of which, do you have any idea where they are? I want to hit Wally for rendering me powerless."

Speedy shoot his head. "As much as I'd like to see that, I haven't seen them." Her last sentence registered, and he raised an eyebrow. "You're powerless?"

Raven nodded. "I'm not completely out of power—but my reserves are down. I can probably still sense things that I have a strong enough bond with, but not much else." She stopped, "Of course!" Sitting down in her usual lotus position, she closed her eyes and began to murmur quietly under her breath.

Speedy watches as the muscles in her neck and shoulders relax. She opens one eye and jerks her head towards the still talking Rachel. "Distract them. I have to concentrate if I'm going to find Robin."

_I can probably still sense things that I have a strong enough bond with…_

Damn. He knew the Boy Wonder was competition.

Rachel Berry was _not_ having a good day—even by her standards. She woke up, to quote one of her favorite Broadway stars, "feeling like shit," and from there it just got worse. Since arriving to school, she'd been slushied a total of three times, and two of those times Jacob Ben-Israel swooped in with his camera and took _highly inappropriate _pictures. She swore she really was going to get that boy arrested for sexual harassment.

She'd been in the bathroom, trying in vain to wash the slushie out of her hair and fervently hoping that she wouldn't get slushied again—she was down to her last pair of clothes—when she suddenly realized there was a boy lying on the ground. She'd frowned,—she'd been positive she was alone—noted that what he was doing was probably highly unsanitary considering the various activities she _knew_ had gone on said bathroom floor, and then promptly shrieked like her dads had taught her.

_Now, baby girl, _they'd coached a five-year old Rachel, _if you ever find yourself alone with a strange boy, we want you to scream like your hair's on fire. You've got a good set of lungs on you, and we know you can do it. Show daddy, ok? _They'd finally stopped with the lessons after their neighbors called the police and the social workers came expecting to find abuse, but by then Rachel had the lesson drilled into her head.

She didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't for the boy to stand up, holding his head, and ask her wearily is she could please stop. _Please_ stop. As in, actual manners. Rachel Berry hasn't encountered a boy with those since Finn broke up with her, and despite her steadfast belief in her future adoration by the male population, (after she becomes a star), she'd started to wonder whether high school civility from them was just too much to ask.

And yet, here it was, a high-school boy saying please. Ok, so he was basically asking her to please shut up, but Rachel Berry was never one of those picky types. And he was attractive too—with lean muscles enhanced by the way he wore his clothes and a casual sensuality that reminded her of Puck—except Puck would never say "please" to her. Ever.

Speedy started to get uncomfortable after the girl's staring drew from a couple seconds to a minute. Thankfully, she'd stopped her screaming, but she was still blocking the door and he wasn't sure if he could slip out without her snapping out of her daze and freaking out again.

He could not believe, out of all the place he could have been transported to, it had to be the girl's bathroom. Ollie would bust a gasket—assuming he ever saw his former mentor again. That meant getting past this human fire alarm. "Excuse me," he said, keeping his voice polite, "Can you tell me exactly where I am?"

Her eyes snapped back into focus, a semi-manic gleam filling them. "Oh, are you a new student? You are currently stationed in the girl's restroom on the west wing of McKinley High." Speedy was about to cut in, thank her, and get out of there, but she barreled on, "My name is Rachel Barbara Berry, and I apologize for my extra-ordinary vocal chords. You see, my fathers trained me from a precocious age in the art of vocal defense against prospective male attacks, and therefore when I saw you prostrate in a highly inappropriate area, my natural instincts kicked in."

She beams at him, "But perhaps I should slow down. I have been told that my extensive vocabulary combined with my background of vocal training can result in long and monotonous speeches, though I cannot see how my voice can ever be called monotonous especially since I spend so much effort enhancing it with extreme emotional power." She paused to take a breath and Speedy finally saw his chance.

"Roy," he said, holding out his hand, "Roy Harper." He was taking a gamble here, making sure they hadn't simply been transported to another city back in the Titan universe. Rachel Barbara Berry doesn't scream again, or leap at him, or scoff in disbelief, so he assumes that here, wherever "here" is, is no where near Star City. Or Jump City. Or the world he'd just come from.

"Very pleasant to meet you, Roy Harper," she says, "Do you happen to be a new student who has perhaps lost his way? If so, I have an above-average memory and that, combined with my years of experience as an attendee of this school, shall take it upon myself to escort you until you have mastered the various passages yourself…"

Roy quickly weighs the pros and cons of answering her question—despite her tangent, he assumes she still wants an answer—and instead decides to wait until he's found another Titan to compare notes with. "Something like that. Listen, have you seen a—" he pauses. He can hardly describe his friends' costumes, now can he? If they all arrived like him, they'd be wearing civilian clothes. "Anyone new?" he finishes, "I got lost from my group of friends."

"Unfortunately, I have not," Rachel says, "However, if you would like, I shall accompany you and help you in your search." She sails out of the bathroom, and Roy follows. The hallways are deserted—_thank goodness_—but though that means its easier to spot stragglers, none of them turn out to be Robin, Jinx, Wally, or Raven.

"The bell is about to ring," Rachel points out after they've searched for awhile, "Shall I show to a quiet room where we can perhaps restructure our search plan? Perhaps, with better descriptions of your friends we can put up posters—"

She stops at the door of a small room and pauses, nose wrinkling in disgust. "It seems that Noah has again decided to engage this room for his inappropriate sexual activities, despite my repeated warnings, threats to place cameras, and powerpoints illustrating the sanitation problems with this arrangement."

She stomps over to swing open the door, and Roy observes a boy pressing a girl against the wall, bringing his lips down to hers. She's a sexy thing, with shapely legs and short cropped black hair. Her head turns as she leans to avoid the kiss and Speedy catches sight of violet eyes.

_Raven?_

Rachel Berry watched with some satisfaction when Roy hauled Noah away from the poor girl he was undoubtedly harassing. She'd launched into a very detailed expose detailing all the fine points of his abhorrent behavior, and was currently lambasting him, driving her points home with a finger to his chest.

To her fury, Noah doesn't seem to care all that much about getting caught, if his eye-rolling is anything to go by. She notices that Roy, who'd been talking to the other Rachel moments before, had walked over and ends her speech. Noah looks relieved, rubbing ears. "Hell, Berry, I swear your voice gets shriller every time you start yammering."

She opens her mouth, ready to launch into a lengthy protest and defense of her soprano voice, but Roy cuts in smoothly instead. "Don't mess with chicks who don't want you and you won't have to listen to it," he says, and Rachel hears the challenging tone in his voice.

Noah apparently hears it too. "I wouldn't say she didn't want me," he says, smirking, "She just needed a little persuasion before she admitted it." He licks his lips meaningfully and Rachel's head swivels to Roy, who's eyes are narrowed. Now this is _drama_, she thinks excitedly. With this kind of tension on the stage, our glee club could soar to new heights. We can expand, become respected, change the social hierarchy!

She's about to bring up (casually, of course), Roy's need to join the glee club, when the other Rachel walks over. "If you boys are finished?" she asks dryly, "I think I know where Robin is."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter ~ 3**

The thing is, Robin isn't all that shocked to find himself in a strange new world when he wakes up. The Titans aren't the first to travel universes, and Batman made sure he knew the signs by heart—just in case. Dark mists? _Check_. Sense of nausea? _Check_. Strange new clothing and lack of weapons? Unfortunately, check and _check_.

So Robin isn't really all that lost when he finds himself in the middle of what looks like a football field, dressed in dark jeans and a casual shirt. Batman's training kicks in instantly, and Robin feels his body take over even as his mind works to absorb the new situation. The first thing he does is check his utility belt, and when he realizes its not there—he deduces several important factors about his new situation.

One, the technology has not reached the point that batarangs and bo-staffs have been invented.

Two, he's going to kick Wally's ass.

Wait. Robin frowned. That last thought sounded less like him and more like—Raven. He closed his eyes, trying to sense where she was, to reawaken the mental link between them, but couldn't.

Three, no magic in this world either—or, at least, not the type that Raven possesses. Robin wondered where his team member was, and whether she's scared by the sudden vanishing of her powers. Standing abruptly, he heads into the school.

Time to get to work.

He manages to find a newspaper in what looks to be the principal's room, which tells him that he's in Lima, Ohio, (and actual place back on Earth, good,) the date, (well past the date of Bruce becoming Batman, so he doubts that this is a parallel universe, since the equipment he and his mentor rely on apparently doesn't exist), and no mention of magic, or superheroes, or anything that might suggest the existence of the Justice League.

_Interesting._

"Psst, dude. You're not supposed to be in there." Robin looks up to see a big lanky boy with an open face looking at him worriedly.

"Thanks," he mouths back, and walks casually out of the office. "I'm Robin," he says holding out his hand, "I'm new to this school." (If his hunch is right, then he'll need an alibi to get the Titans home.) The boy shakes his hand gingerly, as if not quite sure that this is the correct behavior. "Hi, I'm Finn."

"Nice to meet you." Robin withdraws his hand and smiles, watching the other boy's face closely. Finn didn't seem to recognize him, which was good. The last thing he needed was a fan getting in the way. "I'm trying to find a friend of mine," he said affably, "Rachel Roth. She's new?"

"Sorry man," Finn looks apologetic, "Haven't seen her. It's like, lunch time though, so she's probably in the quad buying food. I can take you if you want."

Robin nods and follows the boy. As Finn chatters about football and what-not, he lets his eyes roam, memorizing their route in case they need to make a quick escape. They wouldn't have been the only ones to get transported into this universe—Monkey Master was somewhere here too.

He steps in something wet and grimaces, and as he stops to wipe whatever it is off, he hears a soft cry. Masculine, adolescent. Very frightened. Glancing down the hall, he catches sight of two large shapes crouched over a smaller one, and starts running towards them.

He may not have his uniform or even his mask—but he was still a Titan.

TGTGTGTGTG

Kurt Hummel, to put it mildly, was in trouble. He'd been having a good day—having narrowly avoided Rachel Berry's fate by sticking close to Mercedes, who people rarely messed with—until said diva had went to buy lunch and he, lulled into a false sense of security by his catastrophe-free day so far, lagged behind.

Azimo and Karofsky had found him not two minutes later. (He swears, the boys stalk him.) They'd done the usual, threatening him and throwing not very intelligent insults at him, and Kurt had thought they'd maybe shove him around and then go away. Not bad, all things considering.

He still isn't sure what makes him glance up, but from the window behind Karofsky he spots something metallic with a long tail and monkey-like features—and then it moves. He's too stunned to speak, and then it's gone and the other boys have gone very still.

"I think he likes you," Azimo's jeer breaks the silence, and Kurt feels his stomach clench. "He certainly likes gawking at you enough. How sweet, maybe you two will get married and…"

The insult isn't even that creative, and certainly not believable, but Kurt take one look at Karofsky's red face and knows that he's in deep, deep trouble. _Oh, Barbara Streisand, what do I do?_

He lets out an involuntary whimper as the two draw closer, and Karofsky balls his fist. _Oh my god, he's really going to hit me this time—probably break my nose or arm or—_

And then, the hottest, most unbelievably handsome guy with amazing blue eyes leaps in and blocks the punch. Really _blocks _it, like some martial arts master or something. Karofsky stares in wide-eyed disbelief as the slighter—but definitely more muscular—boy slams him up against the wall before coolly turning to Azimo.

The African-American boy blanches. "Wh—what the _hell_—"

His hero, doesn't wait for him to finish, but knocks his feet out from under him. Kurt, still on his knees behind the mysterious newcomer, gets a very good look at muscled calves before the boy straightens and says, very slowly, "I know your sort have trouble thinking, so I'll say this slowly. Don't. Ever. Go near him again."

Karofsky lunges from the side, and Kurt squeaks, but the boy ducks and rams the big football player right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. And then Finn is there, and he's punching Azimo in the face and demanding what they think they're doing, picking on his brother, and Kurt feels so happy that he can't help but sniffle.

The two bullies run and Finn awkwardly helps him up, but Kurt only has eyes for the blue-eyed boy with crazy martial arts skills and the best muscles he's ever seen. "Hi, I'm Kurt," he manages to stammer, holding out a hand.

"Richard Grayson." His hand is cool and Kurt feels his knees weaken.

_Barbara, I think I'm in love._

Then, the boy jerks his head to the side just in time to catch a small figure who's just hurtled herself at him. "Richard!" the girl cries, and Kurt feels a pang as he watches the Adonis swing the girl around before hugging her back.

"Rachel, I was worried."

Kurt barely registers the fact that Puck, Rachel Berry, and some other boy with bright green eyes have run up, asking questions and demanding to know why Kurt's on the floor and what happened. All he can think is that, once again, he's lost a crush to a girl called Rachel.

Sighing, he turns to the newcomers to explain, only to catch the green-eyed boy—_mmh, _he thinks—staring at the new Rachel and Richard with something like jealousy in his eyes. _Oooh, this is interesting._

And suddenly Kurt the broken-hearted is gone and Kurt Hummel, McKinley's residential gossip queen is back. Whipping out his phone, he texts Mercedes. _Grl, u don't want to miss this._

TGTGTGTGTG

"Why so affectionate?" Robin—or Richard—whispered in Raven's ear as he spun her, "Miss me that much?"

"You wish," her voice was just as soft, "Wanted to test something. Can you hear me?"

Richard didn't have to ask what she meant. He could hear her voice inside his head growing stronger. Wincing, he put her down, and the voice dimmed again. "Poor Wally."

Raven nodded in satisfaction, putting a hand on his arm. _What do you know?_

_Not much. _Richard turned, gesturing towards Kurt. "This is Kurt, the taller boy's Finn. I'm guessing their stepbrothers."

"No shit, Sherlock," Raven said dryly, and stepped away. "Rachel Roth, friends call me Raven. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand to the boy on the floor, frowned, and then knelt beside him. Kurt started, and she put a hand on his arm. "Wait, don't move."

Even without her powers, the touch seemed to soothe him, and he settled back, allowing her to pull up the sleeve of his sweater. The group hissed in sympathy at the cut, and Finn gave an uncharacteristic growl. Raven didn't move, but went to work. "It's not deep," she said finally after bandaging it with the materials out of Rachel Berry's first aid kit, which she just happened to carry around in her backpack.

"What the hell happened?" Puck demanded, and Raven glanced at him in surprise, reading the genuine fury in his face and voice. "You were supposed to stay with Mercedes when you weren't with one of us!"

Kurt stood up, indignantly brushing himself off. "Thanks, darling," he said to Raven before turning to Puck, "I _did_ stay with Mercedes," he said, "She went to buy lunch, and the two Neanderthals cornered me."

"You should have stuck with the system," the Mohawked boy insisted, "What's the point of us freakin' comin' up with it if you won't even—"

"Wait, you came up with a system for _Kurt_?" Rachel Berry demanded, "He's not the one who gets slushied every day and sexually harassed by Jacob Ben-Israel!"

"He _also_ don't carry 'round pepper spray," this was a new voice, and Raven turned to see an African American girl striding purposefully towards the group. "Mercedes," she said brusquely, and then turned to Kurt, "Girlfriend, I have to agree with Puck. You should have come with me."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," the boy said, throwing up his hands. He winced, and then put his cut arm down, and then looked at the newcomers. "Um, an introduction would be nice."

"Glee club's next period," Finn pointed out, "We can just—"

"Initiate our new members there!" Rachel's voice was just a bit too bright, "Come, let's introduce our new comrades to our safe-haven from those gorillas our peers worship." Spinning on her heel, she led the group forward. Raven leaned into Richard, letting her mind touch his again. _Who said anything about being new members?_

_No one. But we're going to need to blend in if we're going to find the machine before Monkey Master._

Raven shot his a look, and he hurriedly added, _I'll explain later, with Roy. Right now, just go with it until we find Wally and Jinx._

The feral look on her face was almost frightening as she smiled. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to that meeting _so _much."


	4. Chapter 4

_Feedback appreciated!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

* * *

><p>"So, what's with all the whispering?" Roy asked, dropping behind as the Glee club assembled in their usual seats, "Assuming, of course, that it's actually important and not just lovey-dovey stuff." He dodged away as Raven shoved at him, laughing. "Hey, did I hit a nerve?"<p>

"Shut up, Roy," Raven grumped, but she was smiling, "Richard's got some information for you."

"We've experienced what's known as 'universe-hopping,'" Richard explained, keeping his voice low, "Somehow, the Monkey Master managed to get his hands on a machine that transports through universes."

"Which explains why he keeps popping in and out," Roy agreed, "So does that mean we're stuck here?"

"No. Luckily, The fact that Wally's the one who pushed the button means that either he has the machine, or it was transported somewhere else. The Monkey Master won't be able to find it—and neither will we. Sorry, Raven."

Raven stilled. "What do you mean?"

Richard gave her a small smile. "I mean, you might have to forego your revenge on Wally, at least for now, because he's the only one who can find the machine. He was the last one to touch it, remember?"

"Fine." Raven flopped back onto her chair, crossed her arms, and proceeded to purse her lips in an expression that was so like pouting that it made the two boys want to laugh. "So, what's the plan, oh illustrious leader?" she asked, turning to Richard.

"Find Wally. It should be easy enough, considering the fact that all of us materialized in the same building. I wouldn't be surprised if he walked in right—"

The doors flew open and a pale looking Asian girl stumbled in. "You guys have to come help—there's a bleeding boy on the bleachers and he's being attacked by metal _things_! Mike's over there but he can't—we have to call the police—"

The three were by her side in a heartbeat. "Show us," Richard commanded, the note of authority in this voice clear. The girl turned on her heel and ran, the three dashing after her. The only one who paused was Roy, who shot a brief look inside and ordered them not to move. "Don't open the windows, don't let anyone, or anything in. Wait for us."

Then they were gone.

TGTGTGTGTG

Jinx was furious. She'd survived Brother Blood, Hive Five, and the Teen Titans. She'd defeated Madame Rouge with a snap of her fingers, worked her way to the top of the Teen Villain chain, and single-handedly whooped Cyborg's butt at videogames. She was _not _going to lose to a bunch of metal monkeys—even if she was suddenly unable to hex.

"Hay-yaa!" she cried, kicking out. The spiked boots she was wearing gave her kicks extra force, and the monkeys shattered on impact. Beside her, she could see Wally's red hair and his pale face. The side of his mouth was bleeding, and he wasn't moving.

The Asian boy next to her had obviously been trained in some kind of civilian school, but he was no match for the monkeys. If he stayed any longer, she'd have to choose between abandoning Wally and watching him die. Glaring in frustration, she grabbed a cup of half drunk coke and threw it at the monkeys closest to her. They screeched as the liquid hit and fled, "skin" smoking.

The brief moment of respite gave her a chance to place herself protectively over Wally's still form. He was slowly waking up now, a bit of color rushing back to his face. "J-jinx?"

"Don't try to talk," she ordered, "Rest up and then _get_ up. We have monkeys to fight." Then she was busy again, trying her best to avoid the metal monkeys' fangs and claws as they hurled themselves at her. Luckily, whatever had taken away her powers seemed to have dulled the monkeys up a bit too, rendering them as nothing more than machinery.

"Mike, _run_!" she heard someone scream, and then groaned in frustration and indecision as the Asian boy tripped. The monkeys were on him in seconds. _Wally, get your butt up_, _there are civilians in danger!_

"Jen, stay with Wally!"

She almost sagged in relief when she saw the other three Titans running towards her. Robin was already pulling Mike out of the danger-zone, and Speedy, who'd grabbed a sturdy branch from somewhere, was making his way towards her, a trail of broken monkeys in his wake.

Raven didn't bother using a weapon. Adopting the same style as Jinx, she simply punched and kicked her way through, eyes blazing. Jinx could have sworn some monkeys died just by looking into her eyes. "He better not be dead," the girl hissed as she made her way to Jinx's side, "Because I want to kill him."

"Don't even joke about that," Jinx snapped, "Can you heal?"

Raven knelt, placed one hand on Wally's face, and concentrated. "Come on, _heal_," she muttered, reaching for any hint of magic left inside her. Suddenly, as Jinx's bare knee crashed into her shoulder as the other girl kept a team of monkeys from gouging through Raven's back, she felt a spark.

_Of course._

"Roy!" Raven called, "I need you to keep the monkeys off us for a couple minutes!"

He vaulted over the monkeys that had been separating them and gave a crooked smile, "Whatever you want, Rae."

She was already pulling Jinx beside her, locking their hands together and using the other to push down on Wally's chest. "We don't have much magic," she said, "But together maybe we can scrounge up enough to get him moving again." Gritting her teeth, she _pushed_, and the sparks reluctantly left her fingers and traveled into Wally's body.

He opened his eyes and leaped to his feet, effectively knocking both girls backwards. Raven was panting as she pulled herself up. "You…better…freakin' _find _that machine, Wally," she hissed as the boy, "'Cause then you're going to pay me back for _everything _I've gone through today because of you."

Wally gulped, turned, and started smashing monkeys. "See? I'm being useful!" he called, and then paused as he got a good look at the school in the distance. "Uh, where are we anyway?"

TGTGTGTGTG

With all five of them fighting, the monkeys soon scattered. Mike and the Asian girl had retreated back into the school, and Raven fervently hoped that they'd followed instructions and hadn't done anything stupid—like call the police. She turned to the others, giving them each a once-over.

Robin had escaped without any injuries, as had Roy. Jinx was favoring her left leg, but it was nothing serious, and Wally had a shallow cut down one cheek that had already stopped bleeding. They were ok. Her shoulders relaxed in relief.

"So," Jinx said, adjusting her skirt and pink-streaked hair that faded to a dirty blonde at the roots, "Care to fill us in?"

"We've been transported to another universe," Robin explained, "The machine that Wally set off can take us home, but Wally's the only one who can find it. Unfortunately, that means the Monkey Master—" Jinx snorted and Wally snickered. "—will try to kill him. He was the one who used the machine before Wally, so he'll be the only one who can find it if Wally's dead."

"Ok, so Mojo-Jojo's got me on his hitlist," Wally said, "Anything else?"

"We're on Earth," Raven's voice was wry, "But on an earth with no powers, hence, I couldn't just blast the cursed monkeys off of us, or teleport us to the machine using your psyche as a guide. We're going by our real-life aliases, so you're Wally, and you're—"

"Jen." Jinx stated flatly. "I'm _not _going by Jenny, or Jennifer. Too normal."

Raven shrugged, "Roy, Richard, Rachel. Or Raven, as a nickname." She pointed to the bearers of the names respectively, and then turned to Wally. "So, where is it?"

"It's not that simple," Richard said, "He'll be able to feel whether we're close or not, but we'll have to search quite a bit to pinpoint the exact whereabouts. For now, let's just go back into the school, register, establish our stories. Considering the fact that we all landed somewhat near McKinley, I think it's pretty safe to say the machine's somewhere there."

"It is," Wally confirmed. His eyes popped. "Cool!"

"Glad someone's having fun," Raven crossed her arms and stomped off towards the school, "Come on. If the machine's somewhere in this school, we better start looking."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Getting _into _the school had been fairly easy. Robin hacked into the main computer and entered in all the necessary information, Roy flashed his most charming smile, and the others did their best not to stand out too much. The registration system never had a chance, and before they knew it, _bam_, and they were McKinley High's newest students.

Getting past the Glee club was a totally different matter.

"Dude, my boy Mike here saw you totally kicking monkey ass," Puck said, arms crossed, "And you're saying you're just regular, normal students?" He snorted derisively, "We ain't stupid, you know."

"He hit his head pretty hard," Robin said calmly, "Everything he says really shouldn't be taken as absolute truth."

"What about me?" Tina demanded. The goth girl had Mike's head in her lap and was gently moving her fingers over the scrape on his temple. "_I _didn't hit my head, and I saw them." Mike flinched, and her fingers stopped and started winding through his hair.

"Maybe you saw something, uh, different?" Wally cut in, "Like, um, angry squirrels?" He withered under Raven's glare, "Sorry, just trying to help."

Raven closed her eyes and gave a small moan of frustration before massaging the corners of her head. When she looked up, her eyes were only a degree away from ice. "Listen," she said, her soft voice cutting through the arguing, "It'll be best if you just take our word for it. We're _new, transfer _students from California. Ever been there? People are different there than in Ohio. Now, _drop it_." Puck opened his mouth and her eyes fixed on him.

"Hey, babe, whatever you want," Puck said finally, raising his hands and giving a slightly less cocky smile than he normally would have.

Raven's head dropped between her knees. "Don't call me 'babe,'" she muttered, voice muffled, "And I need an aspirin."

"Sorry, sweetie, we're not allowed to prescribe actual medicine," the new voice caused everyone's eyes to turn. A slim, ginger-haired woman was stepping delicately into the room, followed by three cheerleaders—one of whom was currently in a sling—and a man in his early thirties.

"Yeah, they're actual pretty fuckin' useless," the injured girl snapped, "Couldn't even give me a damn painkiller."

"Santana," one of the blonde girls said reprovingly, "It's not nice to swear. You'll kill the little fairies of nice words."

"I don't give a—" Santana sighed in frustration and stomped over to the chairs, where she plopped down next to Wally. Placing a hand on his knee, she looked up through her lashes and spoke with what could only , "Hey cutie, want to make me feel better?"

Wally blinked. "Uh…"

"He's taken," Jinx snapped, "Back off." They locked gazes, and Jinx was unpleasantly reminded of the time she'd had a spat out with Karen—back before the girl turned hero.

"Ooh, catfight," Puck ruined the moment, and Jinx turned on him with a snarl. The unpleasant feeling turned downright creepy as she realized Santana had done the same thing. "Listen, asshole," the other girl snarled, "I've had a really bad day, so if you don't shut up—"

"Oh, the irony," Jinx interrupted, aware she was being snide but really not caring, "You don't even know the meaning of a bad day."

"Let's all just calm down here, ladies, unless you're really going to fight. Then, by all means, carry on."

"Will you all just _shut up_?" Raven felt the pounding in her head growing worse. This couldn't be normal. Either she was having a mental breakdown due to the fact that her demonic side was suddenly nonexistent—or someone was showing up on her psychic radar. Someone powerful enough to seriously mess with her mind, even in its mostly human state.

Evidently, Robin came to the same conclusion, because his voice was suddenly in her ear. "Do you need to get out of the building?" she shivered as his warm breath ghosted over her skin, but shook her head. It persisted. "Then, are you up for pinpointing exactly where the disturbance is coming from?"

Speedy was frowning at him. "Raven? It's ok to get out of here if you can't—"

"No, I want to find out who's splitting my head open, and then I want to cut them up into a million tiny pieces." Raven forced herself to her feet, pretending that she wasn't leaning on Robin's hand at her elbow. "Let's go," she growled, and stumbled forward. This time, when the boys steadied her, she didn't even pretend not to lean on their arms.

"Uh, ok?" she heard Jinx calling, "What're we supposed to do?" but the door slammed shut before she could holler back a reply and she really didn't have the energy to think of a decent answer anyway, so she kept walking.

Luckily, the halls were deserted except for the occasional junkie and/or couple, and in both cases they were pretty much dead to the world. The trio managed to make their way down the hallway without attracting too much attention, despite the fact that Raven was depending more and more on the arms supporting her.

"I probably look like I'm drunk," she grumbled as she stumbled, nearly tripping over thin air, "I probably look like I'm stoned. I'm probably look like a kid on a merry-go-freakin' round whose about to get sick all over herself."

"Calm down," Robin said, "Agitation isn't going to help your head."

"Neither is intentionally walking towards the source of the pain," Speedy said pointedly, "Raven, if it's too much we can stop. I'm sure Mr. or Ms. Whoever can wait to be discovered," he glanced over her head at Robin, "_Right, _Dick? Wouldn't want to live up to your namesake."

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Of course. But I trust your instincts, Rae. If you think you're up for it, then—"

"Both of you shut up," Raven gritted out, "My head just officially split open—_ow_." She stopped, turning to face the open door to an office. "That's strange."

"What?" the question wasn't exactly in unison, but close. Raven turned to face the two boys, brow creased.

"The pain just stopped."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jinx counted herself as a pretty honest person. Ok, so she used to be a badass thief, but she'd been honestly good at it. Just like she was honestly wondering if she'd be able to take on Raven in their current unpowered forms. She was certainly sure she was mad enough to give herself an edge, but Raven always seemed to have a trick up her sleeve, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be on the half-demoness' bad side when they got their powers back.

Still, she was contemplating taking the risk anyway—it would be a nice, calming way to take out her anger with Raven, the situation, the _world_.

The moment the trio had decided to up and run had been the moment when Rachel Berry decided that they were potential members and started lobbying for them to join. And by everything that was holy the girl could _talk_. Jinx was never one to sit and listen when she wanted to talk, but with the other girl going so fast she felt like any movement on her part would have the same result as her walking into the path of a speeding bus.

_Splat._

Wally didn't help either. Instead of reading that she was totally not interested and deducing the fact that Raven would kill him if he got her signed up for _Glee _club, of all things, he was actually trying to look as if he was listening. It was Uncle Barry's good boy coming out in him, Jinx thought grudgingly, and while she had to admit it was cute, it wasn't getting them anywhere.

Somewhere between, "background vocalists," and "good for your future," Rachel Berry finally took a breath, and Jinx took that opportunity to paste what she hoped was a believable smile on her face and insert a quick, "Thanks, we'll consider it." Her eyes narrowed as Rachel Berry opened her mouth again. _If one word comes out of that mouth—_

"Give it a rest, Manhands," Santana drawled, "It's obvious cutie and his—girlfriend, aren't interested."

"I'm about to wipe that smirk off your face with my right hook," Jinx muttered, and Wally put an arm around her comfortingly, "But I don't want to get my fist dirty." _And murder would probably put me back in the "bad guys" list. Darn my new superhero persona._

She settled for leaning into Wally's side and letting her head rest on his shoulder, enjoying the look of frustration in the Latina's eyes. _Bet you're not the kind of girlfriend who gets to do the cuddling act very often._

"I'm sorry if music isn't your interest," Mr. Schuester—the man with the tight curly hair—said, "but I really hope that you can give Glee club a chance. We could really use new members."

Jinx blinked. How was it that one sentence from the teacher and she was half ready to agree to what could possibly be the worst decision of her life? One look at the teacher's face gave her the answer. _Shoot, he's a nice guy._

It seeped through the genuine smile and friendly eyes—the guy was practically begging for the world to stomp on him and his idealistic look on life. Then again, a certain speedster carried the same look, and she'd fallen in love with him. Not to mention turned her back on her evil-doing ways—which in her experience was much harder.

In her world, truly nice people were few and far between, and despite all her efforts she felt herself feeling sorry for him. From what she had grasped from the body language and Rachel's monologue, the Glee Club wasn't exactly popular in McKinley High. This man obviously loved New Directions with everything he was, and was equally obviously close to losing the club due to lack of members. And yet, optimism was written all over his face.

"I just wanted to let you know, you wouldn't even have to really sing, if you're not comfortable," Mr. Schue continued, "Rachel's right, you could be more of a background vocalist. It could be fun. Change your perspective a little on the world of showtunes." The little flair he made with his hands at the last three words did nothing to hide the fact that he was grasping at straws.

"A club is a mandatory extracurricular activity, in case the academic benefits are an added incentive," Rachel added, seemingly unaware of Jinx's wince at the word. The clubs at H.I.V.E. had consisted of two types—the kind that included torture of some kind that the kind that meant being tortured. _Really, compared to that, is lip-synching and swaying a little so bad?_

Plus, it's not like she had to volunteer herself, right? The thought of Raven twirling to "I've Got the Time of My Life," made her bite back a grin.

Who knew payback could be so sweet?


	6. Chapter 6

_Reviews appreciated._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"_Both of you shut up," Raven gritted out, "My head just officially split open—ow." She stopped, turning to face the open door to an office. "That's strange."_

"_What?" the question wasn't exactly in unison, but close. Raven turned to face the two boys, brow creased._

"_The pain just stopped."_

* * *

><p>"What do you mean?" She thought it was Speedy, but to be honest, she was a bit distracted at the moment by the sudden absence of the poker that had been splitting her head open just moments before.<p>

"I mean, it's all gone. No pain." She touched her forehead in complete disbelief, "Ok, that just about destroyed the faint hope I had that it was just a normal, mental breakdown. Let's go."

The office itself seemed innocent enough. Then again, none of the Titans in the office had ever actually gone to a public school, which meant they were a bit slow in trusting their instincts. "Is it normal for Ohio offices to have double fridges and three plush couches?" Raven asked, instinctively keeping her voice low. She fingered one of the couches and her raised an eyebrow. "This material—"

"My teachers had beds," Speedy shrugged, "They'd let me crash there whenever I'd have a spat-out with Ollie. Or got in trouble. Or ditched class." He gave a crooked smile at Raven's raised eyebrow, "I was a emotionally unstable, insecure bad boy with daddy issues. I'm told most middle-aged women found that very attractive."

She glanced at Robin, who shook his head. "I went for a year in first grade. My days of education mostly began and ended with private tutors. And Bruce. Lots of Bruce."

"Not exactly a qualified bunch, are we?" Raven's eyes zoomed in on the name plate on the table, as well as the empty seat behind it, "Let's go." She walked to the second door and knocked briskly, "Hey, open up!"

A gentle hand stopped hers. "You've never actually had any experience with the education system, have you? Lesson number one—kiss ass." He knocked again, a gentle, soft pattern that somehow managed to radiate respect. "Excuse me, Ma'am?"

"No wonder you always had teachers willing to let you crash," Raven said, and barely refrained from stomping her foot as Robin and Speedy exchanged amused look over her head. "Really, I'm not _that_ short, so stop doing that."

"When you three are finished with your verbal orgy, feel free to come in."

The three exchanged glances. "Well, I guess it's time to meet Sue Sylvester," Speedy said, and they walked through the door.

The woman sitting at the desk was reading a newspaper. She was blonde. There wasn't much else Robin found particularly defining about her. She didn't radiate feral power or insanity, nor did she look as if she could snap him in half. "Stop ogling bucko, or I'll prove you wrong," She put down the newspaper and smiled, "I might do that anyway."

Raven's eyes narrowed, "Try and you'll suddenly find that you've lost the ability to do much of anything."

"Ah, a PMSing half-demon who's lost her demon side. How frightening."

"I still have my fists."

"Fair point." Sue Sylvester met her eyes squarely, "Then again, I'm not missing any of my limbs either." She smiled. "I want to know everything about who you are, where you're from, and why you're here. Then, I'll decide whether to help you or not."

"Whoa there, Ma'am," Speedy said, "What makes you think we're anything more than regular students?"

"My _brain_, you disgusting waste of hair-gel, and stop brownnosing. It's disgusting." The older woman picked her newspaper back up and began scanning the headlines again, only to find it roughly snatched by an irate Raven. She looked up. "Glad to see you're not all bark."

"Who are you?"

"A decent question. I'm impressed. Give me back my paper, get the hell out of my office, and maybe I'll tell you someday."

"What do you have to do with my headaches?"

"Another decent question. As a reward, I won't call the police on you. Care to try a third time?"

Raven's eyes narrowed, but then she smiled. The boys shivered.

"How long do you think it'll take me to break you after I regain my powers?"

"See, you just had to go for it and mess up your golden record with a stupid question," Sue Sylvester's voice was even, but her eyes were wary, "However, being the kind, sweet, generally good person that I am not, I'll answer one of your questions."

She smiled, and Raven felt her head explode.

The last thing she saw was Speedy's scared face and Robin leaping at a rapidly dodging Sue as she crumbled to the ground.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Robin knew better than to act impulsively. Batman had drilled into him that hastiness resulted in deaths. His death, specifically, and the deaths of the others involved, if he was really an idiot. He'd trained himself to think through a situation before he reacted to it, to go through the best way to diffuse a situation before leaping at it with, (in this case), a pencil sharpener in his hand.

Then again, this wasn't impulse.

It was all instinct.

Speedy was frantically calling Raven's name, but Robin tuned his voice out, counting on him to protect his fallen—_what? Friend, comrade, something more…_

The pencil sharpener shattered against the wall, and he landed behind the desk. Sue was a couple feet away, braced against a cabinet. "Did you really think you could get me that easily? J'onn has truly lost his grasp of the word, 'talented.' My cat could have dodged you."

"How do you know J'onn?" he demanded, sending the chair she'd been sitting on at her head. She dodged, and the paperweight he'd sent straight after it went straight through her—wait.

_Through her?_

He realized she was on the offensive a second before the entire filing cabinet went flying at his head. He slid under it, searching desperately for a match or a flint.

"You're wasting your time, Robin. I'm hardly stupid enough to keep my only weakness right in my office." A sharp object pressed against his throat. "You're dead, by the way."

"But you haven't killed me." The scissors pressed closer, nicking the skin, and he winced, "Careful there."

Sue let him go, and he sprang back over the desk, keeping the object between them. Not that it would matter.

"J'onn said there was no more like him," he said, watching her carefully. If she phased through the floor, he needed to be ready.

"He said you were smart, too," Sue's voice was dry, "I suppose he hasn't completely lost his touch." She picked up the chair he'd thrown at her and brushed it off before sitting back down. "You can relax, by the way. I've already decided not to kill you."

"I don't relax around people who hurt my teammates."

"She's not hurt," Sue rolled her eyes, "Honestly, you children are so dramatic. I just sent her into a mental coma. She's receiving everything she needs to know right now."

"You could have just told her," Speedy growled. His eyes were narrowed, hands clenched fists at his sides. "Don't tell me this isn't hurting her."

"I didn't want her yapping at me while I explained," Sue waved her hands impatiently as Speedy took a threatening step forward, "Your illustrious leader already tried that, and, in case you didn't notice, it didn't work. My kind don't die easily."

"You're a Martian." Robin stated flatly. "J'onn lied."

"No, he just neglected to mention that Mars has a sister planet thirty-seven billion light years away. Rasm is tiny, overlooked by the galaxies, which is completely due to our protective mental guards. It's to our advantage not to be noticed."

Robin watched her face, but there was no flickers, no tell-tale signs. There was no way to read if she was lying.

"You see," Sue continued, crossing one leg over the other, "Rasm guards a very important secret. Once every century, a silver pool appears—a portal that allows those around it to travel to different worlds." she hesitated. "We are not allowed to see what is within these portals, because once we have entered one, we cannot come back. My circumstances were—unusual."

"So how did Mojo Jojo get it?" Speedy demanded.

"Ah, let me guess. Oversized monkey with the ability to speak in human dialects as well as communicate with his own kind? Ugly as the atrocity you call hair."

Robin nodded, ignoring Speedy's indignant sputters. "He goes by 'Monkey Master.'"

Sue grimaced. "N'orm never did have a very good imagination. He was trapped in that form for committing several heinous crimes, including multiple attempts at stealing some of the water within the portal. Personally, I never thought he'd succeed."

"Too stupid?"

"Too lazy. And unmotivated," she frowned, eyebrows creasing. "N'orm was never stupid. If he finally succeeded in getting the water—"

"—he might have been using the name and the attacks to make us underestimate him. Talk about a plan backfiring." Speedy snorted. "You'd think he'd be smarter than letting Kid anywhere near a big red button."

Sue Sylvester rolled her eyes, getting to her feet. "I'm going to go get coffee, talking to you three have given me a serious need for caffeine. By the time I get back, you three will be out of my office and it will look like Martha Stewart just got through with it."

"Raven's still—"

The door slamming was the only response.

Speedy knelt down by Raven's curled up body. The girl hadn't moved, and the crease between her eyebrows hadn't smoothed out. The archer glanced up at Robin and raised an eyebrow. "Think she'll mind if we carry her?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Robin smirked, "How much did you overhear, Raven?"

"All of it. Stupid, self-important Martian, or wherever she's from. J'onn underestimated me too." Raven pushed herself to her feet, "Whatever she did seriously messed with my brain, but it didn't knock me out. I did receive the information she put in my mind, though."

"Will she help us?" Robin asked, voice muffled as he and Speedy started wrestling the filing cabinet back in place. Surprisingly, (or not-so-surprisingly, considering the owner), it wasn't even dented.

"Yes," a black tendril wrapped around the cabinet, pulling it back in place. Raven smirked, "She reactivated my powers after she made it clear she would help us escape only because it would give her a way back to Rasm, and that if we messed things up, she'd kill us."

"Anything else important?" Speedy asked, "Is she going to get me a bow?"

"She said something about scrambling the brains of the spawns of our carelessness. I don't think we're going have anymore problems with that monkey scene."

"That's a relief," Speedy grimaced, "I think Rachel was about to try blackmailing us into joining the Glee Club."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"You did _what?_"

When Raven got angry, her voiced dropped. When she got really angry, things exploded and her eyes turned red. When she was furious, she shouted.

Presently, despite the fact that she'd regained her powers, her demonic side was still dormant, so the explosions and red eyes didn't happen. Her voice, however, was loud enough to cause the librarian to shoot them a warning look. Raven ignored the mousy, bespectacled woman, focusing her glare on Jinx.

"Why are you angry?" the witch demanded, "You can always just say no. I, on the other hand, missed out the chance to get my powers activated. Do you know how many times I've wanted to trip that Santana Lopez up? I swear, that bitch is going to pay for hitting on my boyfriend—"

"I think it's a great idea," Robin said, "From what I've gathered, being in Glee Club is the equivalent of being a social leper. The only people outside of the club itself that will notice you will be the bullies."

"If you think it's all that great, then _you_ join Glee," Raven's tone was acidic, "You," she directed this at Jinx, "Are full of it. I'll deal with you when I don't need your boyfriend to get us home." She stood up, chair scraping loudly against the ground.

"Young lady," the librarian said disapprovingly, "If you cannot keep your voice down, then I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Raven growled something incomprehensible and probably not English before spinning on her heel and making her way to the back of the library.

Despite the time of day technically being "study block," the place was almost abandoned. She scanned the books, only half focusing on the titles.

_It's been awhile since I've gotten so angry._

She'd been able to express her frustration, yell, and basically raise hell without actually _raising hell_. A part of her ached, knowing that the freedom to feel anger was temporary, and yet another part rebelled at the thought that maybe, she was enjoying that freedom just a little too much.

_If I'm out of practice in any way when Rage reawakens…_

She had to stop.

Raven made her way to the classics section, fingers brushing along the mostly new paperbacks. The familiar names—Dickens, Steinbeck, Austen—were surprisingly comforting, and she found her lips curving into a smile.

_I'll miss the freedom of feeling happy too._

She was snapped out of her melancholy by a familiar figure lounging against the bookshelf. Puck's eyes were closed, but he obviously wasn't asleep, if the smirk on his face was any indication. Then again, knowing him, perhaps this was his natural expression.

"Are you actually here to read?" Raven asked.

"No," his eyes opened, "My English teacher assigned us a book. Ratmen, or something."

"Of Mice and Men," Raven caught sight of the slim volume and pointed, "There it is. Knock yourself out."

Puck didn't move. "Listen, I heard you guys arguing."

Seeing the look on her face, he raised a hand, "Yeah, yeah, you're embarrassed. Don't worry, being called a 'social leper' isn't exactly the worst we've been called." He hesitated, "Before you decide we're not for you, babe, think about this."

He reached behind him and gave her a cup. She looked at the bright blue ice inside and raised an eyebrow. "A slushie isn't going to change my—"

"Berry's being hit with this every day."

Raven stopped, hearing the intensity in the boy's tone.

"Hummel showed up with a couple bruises last week. I broke Azimo's nose for it, but if your friend hadn't saved his fairy ass, he'd have more this week. The rest of us aren't exactly safe either." He jerked a hand at the slushie. "We've all been hit once or twice."

Raven felt herself go cold with anger. "Report them."

"You are from out of town," he said, amused, "I didn't think California could be a nicer place than Lima. Listen, sweetheart, ratting them out to Figgins won't help. It'll just make us snitches."

He pulled _Of Mice and Men _from the shelf, hefting it in his hand. "Just remember this before you make your decision. We could really use another badass who won't take shit from no one on the team."

"I'm leaving soon. If you heard us, you know that."

His lips quirked in a half-smile. "Rome wasn't built in a day, babe, but I think between you, me, and Lopez, we can shake some shit up before you have to go."


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the lack of updates, and thanks to SugarApple, whose review reminded me about this fic._

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><p>The thing about Raven was that, even at Jump, she was the quiet one. Oh, her friends knew better, but despite her fan club—which was both more populous, diverse and quite a bit more disturbing than that of any of her teammates—and Dr. Light's babblings, no one ever saw her as the loud one, the showy one, the one to look out for.<p>

"Doesn't it bother you?" Jinx had asked when she defected over and got to know the Raven behind-the-scenes. Raven had raised a cool eyebrow, and the witch had blushed. "I mean, that most of the world thinks you're, you know, boring."

Raven had shrugged. "If they can't find excitement in a half-demon sorceress who battles evil on a daily basis, that's their problem." She ran one slim hand through her hair, and smiled, very slightly. "Besides, that way, when I need to be heard, I'll make sure people _hear_ me."

She wanted to be heard now. Robin and Speedy knew the signs—it was the same slightly mulish look she'd worn last time Beast Boy begged for a pet and she'd refused flatly, then refused to budge until she was assured that no matter how big his eyes got, the other members of her team would not be swayed.

Then again, usually, the look was accompanied by a dark cloak and hood, which helped make it more menacing. Considering how she was currently dressed, however, the glare looked more like a scowl. It was—what was the word—cute. Very cute.

"Are you two even listening?" the dark-haired girl demanded, crossing her arms. The scowl darkened into her most dangerous stare. The one that reminded them that she had her powers back and they—well, they pretty much had nothing. Raven was good at that kind of stuff.

"Where are Jinx and Wally?" Speedy asked suddenly, then winced as Raven's glare intensified.

"As I have said," she said patiently, drumming her fingers lightly against her thighs, "Due to the fact that they are the oldest, and can pass for adults, they are finding us a place to live."

Speedy snorted. "Wally? An adult? We are talking about the same Wally, aren't we? The one who got us in this mess in the first place because he couldn't resist pushing a red button?"

Raven shrugged. "Jinx will keep him in line. Now, back to the main issue." She crossed her arms again, fixing the boys with her most serious look. "As long as we're here, none of the Gleeks get hurt. None of them. Not a hair."

"Raven, we save the world on a daily basis," Robin pointed out. He was perusing one of Emma's brochures with interest. "I don't think dealing with a bunch of high-school bullies will be much of a problem."

"Says the one tutored by the Bat his whole life," Speedy said under his breath, "School bullies are way worse than Dr. Light could ever be."

"I'm also worse than Dr. Light could ever be," Raven said, and smirked. "School's out in a couple minutes, and Puck has informed me that certain jocks like to wait for them on the way out. Let's go kick some butt."

"That's usually my line," Robin grumbled, putting down his brochure, "And if this is what the school has to offer as psychological help, then I can see why the students have such a problem with aggression."

"So, write new ones and sneak them in tomorrow," Speedy stretched, "Not like it'll be difficult."

Raven smiled. Underneath the light banter, she knew the boys were shaking with slightly nervous energy, just as she was. It would be different, handling civilians, but oh, it was going to be so much _fun._

**TGTGTGTGTG**

Ben Brooks was not having a good day. During first period, he'd been confronted with a large, ugly _F_, and _See me after class_, on his test. It shouldn't have been surprising, considering just how rarely he showed up to Algebra II, but hey, what senior wanted to be stuck with a whole bunch of brainy freshman for an hour?

It's not as if he was too worried, until he realized halfway through third period that if his GPA dropped another point, he'd be kicked off the football team. If that happened, his life was over. Ben had comforted himself by pushing a couple nerds into their respective lockers, but by lunch, he was still stewing. _I'll just copy off a couple homework assignments from whatshisface_.

Lunch wasn't much better. Ever since the top three Cheerios had defected to the Glee Club, of all things, the cheerleading squad no longer held its previous appeal. Ben had slept with most of the girls at least once, and even Hannah Reynold's hand on his thigh didn't snap him out of his funk. To make things worse, Quinn Fabray herself had sauntered by, looking for all the world like the hot, untouchable princess she'd been before the events of the last year, and damn if his eyes didn't still follow those long legs.

Of course, Karofsky had caught him looking, and laid into him about being a secret Gleek, which had quickly removed Hannah's wandering hand and caused the rest of their table to scoot a couple inches away. Ben, naturally, defended himself, but he could see the doubt in his buddies' faces, and that had really set him off.

By the end of the day, he was ready to show everyone just how much of a jock he really was. Those losers wouldn't know what hit them.

Little did he know, Raven was currently thinking much the same thing. She could sense the ball of aggression-filled testosterone coming from across the school, and the tint of violence in Ben's aura was hard to miss. "Get ready," she told Robin and Speedy, who were lounging beside her.

The gleeks were arranged behind the protective line that was Robin, Speedy, Puck, and her, closely flanked by Brittany and Santana. The other glocks, (the derogatory term the football team had applied to those who claimed to be both a jock and a member of the Glee club), were at practice, leaving the girls, Artie, and Kurt.

They'd elected to gather in a more unusual spot, in the back parking lot where the only other students were so high they wouldn't notice if an elephant fell on them. Usually, the gleeks did their best to stick to areas with lots of people, but Raven doubted the bullies were smart enough to note the difference, let alone prepare for it..

"I really don't think this is necessary," Rachel interrupted her thoughts. Raven glanced backwards, watching as the other girl placed her hands on her hips. "Truly, we thank you, but we are more than capable of handling—"

"Shut it, Berry," Puck said, looking down at her, "You couldn't handle the Smurfs if they came at you. Remember last week?"

Rachel flushed. "Bringing up juvenile movies hardly gives you credibility, Noah, and those creatures were _blue_." Puck rolled her eyes, and Raven hid a smirk. And she'd thought Cyborg and Bumblebee were in denial.

The thought made her slightly homesick. By now, the rest of their team must have noticed their absence. She could imagine Starfire's tears and Beast Boy's worried look, as well as Cy's forced cheerfulness as he struggled to pull them together. They were trying their best to get back home, but even with all of them working together, it would take time, and each minute was a minute her friends might do something dangerous.

Traveling dimensions was tricky, and jumping universes seemed even more so, but she had no doubt that her friends would try it anyway. Not to mention _Batman_. She'd met the man once or twice, and had the feeling that even jumping through universes wouldn't stop the man from tracking Robin down.

It was kind of nice, having a father who cared. Then again, almost anyone was better than Trigon.

Raven glanced backwards as the ball of aggression that was Ben Brooks barreled closer.

She could see him now—Ben wasn't even trying to be subtle as he charged towards the group. She felt a pang of disgust at the way he was so obviously using other human beings as punching bags, and then noted another familiar duo coming from the other side. Then, Ben was upon them and she stuck out a foot, letting him trip and go skidding.

"What's going on?" Jinx wanted to know as she watched Raven follow up with a roundhouse kick to the bully's meaty backside. "Are we hitting civvies now?"

"Only the mean ones," Speedy said, explaining what was going on. Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Leave it to Rae-Rae to hog all the fun." She stalked forward, and the boys were suddenly very aware of the high-heels she wore on her feet. They winced as she kicked the jock, who'd surged up off the ground, and left him gasping for air and holding his lower belly.

"I hope you found us a place," Raven mouthed, standing back slightly as Ben struggled to regain his composure. Fury reddened his face, making him almost apish as he gasped for breath.

"Naturally." Jinx held a fist next to Ben's nose. "Listen, bully-boy. You want another kick? I guarantee that this time, it'll remove any chance of you ever having dull-witted babies and make showering after games a lot more uncomfortable."

Ben wasn't the only one who winced at that. Raven took over, making sure the brute of a boy looked her straight in the eyes before she spoke. "Leave the Glee club alone," she ordered, "Spread the word. We won't be so nice next time."

Getting to her feet, she gave a crisp nod to the assembled gleeks, who were watching with a mix of awe and—was that giddiness?

"That was totally cool," Mercedes said approvingly, hands on hips.

"Agreed. As unnecessary as the violence was, it was both effective and neatly done." Rachel peeked around Puck's side.

"It'll just paint a bigger bulls-eye on our backs tomorrow," Artie pointed out, "As satisfying as it was to see Brooks get his ass handed to him, the pain might not be worth it."

"We'll be here tomorrow," Raven told him, crossing her arms, "And the day after, and the day after that. These brutes are stupid, but they're not suicidal. I give them three days."


	8. Chapter 8

_Two updates in one day!_

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><p>The tussle—it was far too short and one-sided to be called a fight—had allowed the female Titans to let off some steam, which turned out to be a good thing, because the first thing Ben Brooks had done when he could get up was run crying to the principal.<p>

"We're out of here," Jinx had said, and the group had split—the Glee Club in one direction, the Titans in another.

"We'll just have to deal with the mess tomorrow," Robin said once they were far enough away that they could no longer see the school.

"Yeah, but running away from the authorities? Never gets old." Jinx rolled her eyes at the sharp look the Boy Wonder shot her. "Relax, Rob. I'm not turning villain again." They turned a corner, and Raven slowed to a walk, then stopped completely.

Running away _had_ been fun. Too much fun. She was allowing herself more and more leeway when it came to her emotions, and that wasn't a good thing. She willed her mind back to calmness and serenity, breathing in and out in a rhythm as natural as blinking was to others.

"Where are we?" Speedy broke into her thoughts—_too easily_, she grumbled—as he bumped into her, then caught her around the shoulders as she stumbled. "Whoa there, Rae."

"Raven," she said, pushing away and looking around. "And if I'm not mistaken, Wally and Jin—Jen, should be answering that." The quick change in name was almost too late, and she gave herself a mental shake. This could not happen at school tomorrow.

Jinx halted, then turned, a sheepish look on her face. "So, we found a place," she said, "Affordable. Kind of."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"

"We can get in if you pull one of your superhacking tricks," Wally put in. He was making his most pleading face, the one that even Beast Boy's kitten face couldn't match. Raven hid a smirk as he clutched at Robin's arms. "Please, Dick? It's the only decent place within _miles_."

"He's right," Jinx supplied, running her hands through her hair, "We searched for hours. Lima isn't exactly tourist town, and the only other options are seedy motels and ridiculously expensive apartments."

Robin shrugged. "Name?"

Wally's grin split his face in half, it was so big. "You're the best, Robbie. I knew there was something underneath that follow-the-rules uptight rich kid you always pretended to be."

"Thanks," Robin's voice was dry, but there was affection in it. Raven didn't know just how far back the two went, but Wally was easy to like and easier to love, despite his annoying streak.

"So," Wally grinned, "How do you all feel about living in the Flamingo Casino for a couple days?"

And, his annoying streak had just overshot anything good feelings she had left towards him. Wally gulped, stepping behind Jinx as the half-demoness' eyes darkened. "What," Raven said softly, "Made you think that a casino, of all places, would be a good choice?"

Wally shrank even farther behind his girlfriend, a heady feat considering that he was taller. "Um," he said, "It's really cool?"

"Wrong answer."

**TGTGTGTGTG**

After a couple minutes of Jinx flatly refusing to let Raven at her boyfriend, the empath had finally calmed down enough so that her face no longer screamed bloody murder. She turned on Jinx. "Why in the name of the seven hells did you agree to this? A _casino_? We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, and the best living quarters you can find us belong to a place chock full of rich, fat, lecherous old men and their trust-fund brats?"

"Hey," Robin and Speedy said simultaneously. They glanced at each other, then back at Raven, who'd raised both eyebrows.

"Who's the one who needed the newest model of every single luxury car in the Titan garage?" Raven asked, looking pointedly at her leader.

Robin shrugged. "They're good for our image."

"Case in point," Raven turned back to Jinx, who looked stubbornly back at her.

"Listen, Raven, since we're here, why not lighten up a little? Have some fun? We can work to save the world and get back to our universe tomorrow, but for tonight, let's just unwind. Have a few beers. Dance a little." Her tone had went from stubborn to cajoling by the last phrase, and Raven felt her anger dissipate, despite herself.

It was no secret that Jinx loved to dance, and the few Teen Titans parties that both girls had attended had shown Raven just how good the pink-hair witch was at shaking up the dance floor.

And really, a little more fun couldn't hurt, right?

"Fine," she said, turning on her heel, "Let's go."

"Aww, Rae-Rae, you are the sweetest," Jinx cooed, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl's waist. "And slightly bipolar," she murmured, turning her face away so that the boys couldn't read her lips, "What's up?"

Had someone asked her to rank those she felt comfortable opening up to before Wally had gotten them into this mess, Jinx would not have been very high up on the list—but right now, she was pretty much the only option. She was positive she didn't want to drag Robin into her head any more than he already was, and Speedy didn't need to get involved. Wally wasn't even an option, which left his volatile, surprisingly perceptive girlfriend.

She waited until the boys passed them, Wally excitedly leading the way, before turning back to Jinx. Explaining her concerns helped a bit, especially since she felt that the pink-haired witch could relate.

"So, you're scared that you won't be able to go back to the emotionless, in-control Raven we all knew and loved?" Jinx asked when she finished.

Raven nodded, keeping a wary eye out for the Titan boys, who were still up ahead, arguing about something or another. Judging by the looks Wally kept throwing back and the way Robin and Speedy refused to so much as turn, she'd bet anything that it was about the topic of her current conversation.

_Well, boys, you can just keep wondering._

Jinx stretched. "To be honest, Rae, I really don't see the problem. You've managed fine so far, and you're not going to forget a lifetime's worth of training after a couple days. Like I said before, use this time to loosen up and live a little. When are you going to have another chance?"

It was a good question. Assuming that the Monkey Master didn't do anything drastic—and, judging by their encounters with him thus far, he probably wouldn't—they'd be gone in a week at most. She let a smile, a real smile, stretch over her face, reveling in the sensation.

"You're right."

Jinx grinned. "Of course I am. Which means, of course, that you won't object to a little fun tonight, right?"

"Depends what kind you mean," Raven said, rising to the faint challenge in the other girl's voice.

"Nothing illegal," Jinx inspected her nails, "A couple dances, a makeover. Girl stuff."

"Enough whispering," Wally was running back to them, and even without his powers, he was pretty fast. Raven didn't answer, but shot Jinx a small smile.

**TGTGTGTG**

The Flamingo's Casino turned out to be ridiculously pink, feathery, and expensive. After Speedy charmed away the woman working the Information Table and Robin hacked into the computer, even he had to whistle at the amount of money "the Grayson's" were paying. The computer beeped as it produced five keycards, and Robin grabbed them before beating a hasty retreat.

"Third floor," he said, passing out the keys to the other Titans.

"That was ridiculously easy," Raven pointed out, "Are you sure no one got suspicious?"

Robin grinned. "Civilians unused to drama don't expect anything unless it beats them in the face. I just looked like I knew what I was doing, and everyone else thought so too." He led them to an elevator, ushering the group inside. Speedy joined them, the woman no where in sight.

"Told her that something was leaking in the bathroom," Speedy explained, hitting the "close" button before anyone else could join them, "She went to call a janitor."

"Here," Wally handed him a key, and Speedy took it with a grin.

"Sweet. How many rooms did you score?"

"Yeah, about that." If Raven hadn't known better, she would have thought Robin looked almost—abashed. "The place is packed, and I only managed to book one room."


End file.
